First Ohio Judge In Decades Disbarred For Misconduct
Posted on Monday, 7 of July , 2008 at 2:26 pm
CLEVELAND, OHIO—The Supreme Court of Ohio has disbarred Judge Jeffrey Hoskins of the Highland County Court of Common Pleas for engaging in a pattern of professional misconduct lasting over a decade “incompatible with his duties as a judge and a lawyer.” The Court’s 7-0 per curiam decision permanently revokes Hoskins’ license as an attorney and bars him for life from the practice of law in Ohio.
Hoskins becomes the first sitting judge in Ohio in decades to be disbarred indicating what a hold the judiciary has in Ohio. In their unanimous decision, the Court wrote that Hoskins’ misconduct “caused incalculable harm to the public perception of the judiciary and attorneys”.
The action was based on a nine-count complaint filed against Hoskins by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel alleging more than 40 violations of state disciplinary rules in the course of his practice as a private attorney between 1995 and 2002 and during his service on the bench beginning in February 2003.
Following five days of evidentiary proceedings before a hearing panel and review of the panel’s findings by the Board of Commissioners on Grievance & Discipline, the board filed a report with the Court finding that Hoskins had engaged in the charged misconduct and recommending that he be permanently disbarred.
Hoskins filed multiple objections to the board’s findings and recommended sanction, and the Court heard oral arguments in the case on May 20.
In the decision, the Court unanimously affirmed the disciplinary board’s findings that Hoskins violated multiple provisions of the Code of Judicial Conduct while serving on the bench, including deliberately concealing his personal ownership interest in a building in which a court-related office contracted to lease space. The Court also found that Hoskins committed multiple rule violations by entering into discussions with a convicted felon, David Bliss, in which Hoskins suggested that Bliss’ purchase of the above-mentioned building at a greatly inflated price would be a legal way for Bliss to utilize money he claimed to have obtained years earlier through criminal activity and to have concealed from authorities while in prison.
The Court noted that, because Bliss was secretly cooperating with a law enforcement “sting” operation at the time, the case record included tape recordings of conversations in which Hoskins gave Bliss detailed instructions on how to “launder” the alleged concealed funds from his earlier crimes through a stock transfer in which he would acquire ownership of Hoskins’ building.
With regard to the offenses alleged during his years in private practice, the Court adopted the board’s findings that Hoskins engaged in a pattern of misconduct involving fraud, deceit, dishonesty or misrepresentation and committed other ethical offenses by repeatedly making improper and unauthorized withdrawals of money for his own use from the estates of several relatives over whose assets he exercised fiduciary control as executor or administrator.
The board also found that Hoskins failed to timely disburse estate assets to the rightful beneficiaries, failed to keep required records accounting for his withdrawals and disbursements from the estates, charged excessive legal fees, and filed incomplete, inaccurate and misleading reports with the probate court that concealed his improper diversion of funds from the estates to his own use.
In rejecting Hoskins’ claim that permanent disbarment was disproportionate to his offenses, particularly in light of the fact that he was acquitted of all criminal charges brought against him, the Court noted that he had engaged in a pattern of misconduct stretching over a period of almost 10 years and that his actions involved multiple rule violations, reflected dishonest and selfish motives, and had caused serious financial harm to his private clients and “incalculable harm to the public perception of the judiciary and attorneys.”
The Court concluded: “(P)ermanent disbarment of judges or attorneys for misconduct committed during service as a judge is not confined to misconduct that has resulted in a criminal conviction. … This sanction is consistent with our precedent that in both judicial and attorney disciplinary proceedings, the standard of proof is ‘clear and convincing evidence’ rather than the ‘proof beyond a reasonable doubt’ standard required in criminal cases. … Therefore, the mere fact that respondent has not been convicted of any criminal offense relating to this misconduct does not preclude disbarment.”
“We are persuaded that the ultimate sanction of permanent disbarment is warranted here. In addition to his improper public comment, failure to recuse himself, and favoritism, respondent has engaged in a pattern of serious misconduct, including deceit, conversion of funds for his personal use, and hiding his interests in and then trying to sell a building in exchange for laundered money. His misconduct as both a judge and an attorney spanned a protracted period of over 10 years, with much of it occurring after respondent had become judge. Clearly, these violations were not isolated incidents in an otherwise unblemished legal career.
“The persistent, serious, and varied nature of respondent’s malfeasance establish that only the full measure of our disciplinary authority can protect the public and restore the integrity of the judiciary and the bar, particularly given the principle that judges must be held to the highest standards of integrity and ethical conduct. Therefore, respondent is permanently disbarred from the practice of law in Ohio.” 7-7-08
Comments or questions? Do you have a news tip? Email us at news@northcountrygazette.org
Help keep NCG on the Web. Sign up today via PayPal for the NCG Daily News Digest. Or, patronize our affiliate advertisers to the right of this article. With every order placed through the NCG website, NCG realizes a commission. To make a donation to support the NCG investigate reports, please use the PayPal button on the website.
- Add this post to
- Del.icio.us -
- Meneame -
- Digg
COPYRIGHT 2009 - NORTH COUNTRY GAZETTE All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of the publisher.
